THE SUPPLICATORY CANON TO THE MOST-HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, OUR PROTECTOR A poem by St. Gerasimos, monk of Little Anne’s Skete.

Ode I

Irmos.  After crossing the sea as if it were dry ground and escaping the wickedness of Egypt, the Israelite cried out:  Let us sing to God, our redeemer.

Since you bore the savior and creator, you always protect from manifold dangers those who approach your divine icon, for you alone save us, O Virgin.

Having acquired your very august icon as true and heavenly wealth, Patmos magnifies you decorously.

Deem them who trust firmly in your intercession to be worthy of finishing purely a peaceful and stable life, enjoying good health and performing holy works.

In every grievous sorrow, always give us your speedy help and fill our minds with joy and gladness, our Protector.

 

Ode III

Irmos.  O Lord, who covered the vault of the sky with a roof and built the church:  Confirm me in your love, O summit of desires, support of the faithful and only merciful one.

You, as our sympathetic queen, protect unceasingly those who call on your divine name in affliction, O Protector; wherefore, we proclaim your protection and fervent defence.

Curing passions that are difficult to deal with, O Queen, the salvific power of your wondrous icon goes before those who amid dangers 
celebrate it and drives away every threat of our enemies.

Your wonderworking icon truly has appeared as a spring of holiness in Patmos, all-pure Virgin, purifying and saving all who hasten to it, O Maiden who protects us.

All-pure Virgin, give salvation, bodily health, strength and healing of the passions and deliverance from every disease and affliction to those who reverently venerate your divine icon, with which you have favored us.

Since you, O Queen, have been fittingly called our protector, protect those who seek out your divine protection from all harm, malice and affliction.

Prayer after Ode III.

Fervent Intercession
Patmos mystically exults in you, Virgin and protector, and honors your icon, for from it she receives the favors of your munificent benevolence, and she ever proclaims your miracles, pure Virgin.

 

Ode IV

Irmos.  I have heard, O Lord, the mystery of your dispensation; I have meditated on your works and glorified your divinity.

O Virgin most highly favored by God, strengthen us in virtuous works and ask for the forgiveness of the sins of those who run fervently to your protection.

You who are afflicted by sufferings, run to the icon of our Protector, so that you may receive healing of both soul and body.

The divine glory of your icon flashes like lightning beyond all brightness, our Protector, and drives away the black night of the passions.

When the bound captive saw you, he was immediately set free, joyously magnifying your great miracle, O Maiden.

 

Ode V

Irmos.  Illumine us with your commandments, O Lord, and by your lofty arm grant us your peace, O merciful God.

Protect us beneath your fervent protection, O Virgin, from all kinds of attacks of the deceiver, protecting us from every affliction.

Every pious Christian approaching your icon, our Protector, is filled with joy and proclaims your salvific favor.

You heard the voice of a suffering woman, pure Virgin, and having come up in a hidden manner, you appeared and set her free from her disease, O Queen.  

O our Protector, when we only say your august name with fervent faith, we are quickly delivered from afflictions which suddenly come upon us.

 

Ode VI

Irmos.  I will pour out my supplication to the Lord and to him will I declare my afflictions, for my soul has been filled with troubles and my life has approached Hades, so like Jonah I pray:  Raise me up from death, O God.

O Virgin, as you are holier than the angels, purify our hearts of base and materialistic thoughts, for we fall down and venerate your divine icon which ever pours forth grace and mercy, O Protector.

You heal the pains of bodies and souls, O Protector and Maiden, as in Egypt you rescued the endangered young man from death by your awesome authority, O Virgin that is worthy of all praise.

Deliver with your speedy visitation those distressed by difficult dangers and afflicted by terrible diseases; always give physical help to those near and far, in accordance with your title, O Queen.

Your divine and shining temple is seen as a flower-bearing garden, where as a flower of life your icon is fragrant with your beneficial deeds, wherefore Patmos hastens fearfully to your protection, our Protector.

 

Prayers after Ode VI.

Kontakion in Tone 2.  By the streams of your blood.
By your fittingly named title of Protector, all-pure Virgin, as a treasury of inexhaustible kindness, deliver us from every difficult situation and from the attacks of the crafty destroyer of man, for we faithfully glorify you.

Far-famed Patmos by your divine goodwill has freely acquired your wondrous icon as a source of happiness that cannot be taken away, O Maiden, for you furnish from it your favors to all who ask.  We truly properly call it our protector, for it saves from afflictions those who run to it in faith.  Wherefore, pure Virgin, ever give us your help and manifest to us your splendidly generous protection.

 

Ode VII

Irmos.  The youths from Judea, having come to Babylon of old, by their faith in the Trinity trampled down the flame of the furnace, chanting, O God of our fathers, blessed are you.

You gave strength, O Maiden, to the suffering woman; so, also, heal now our diseases by your authority, Virgin and Protector, and furnish to us your beneficence in this life.

Your grace, Virgin, spreading out everywhere saves all men; therefore, those who have obtained your kindnesses hasten, O Protector, to your holy temple, hymning your glory.

Patmos has found a great prize—your august icon, O Queen.  Therefore she enjoys the wealth of your favor and ever extols your many miracles with grateful voices.

Divinely favored Virgin, always rescue those who in faith fall down and venerate your divine icon from terrible drought and the hurricane of passions, and from every misfortune, mischief, madness and corruption.

 

Ode VIII

Irmos.  The king of Heaven whom the hosts of angels hymn, hymn and exalt him above all forever.

Deliver me from deadly malice, as you preserved from certain death those who fell before your icon in faith.

As you grant by your invisible presence requests to those who invoke you, so also give even to me help from Heaven.

As you cured thoroughly the pupils of the body, so open the eye of my soul, so that I may see the light of the divine commandments.

O Virgin, grant strength to the ailing and refreshment to the oppressed who in faith ask for your divine assistance.

 

Ode IX

Irmos.  O Mother of God, we who have been saved through you fittingly confess you, and with the incorporeal choirs we magnify you, O pure Virgin.

Do not cease watching over this island of yours, for it possesses your divine icon as a safe refuge, O Protector.

Like a cloud of life, you daily cause immaterial rain to fall on those who take refuge in your kindness, O Maiden.

Crush the evil serpent which creeps in deceitfully against us, O Protector, and protect our life in peace.

We fittingly hymn, O Full of Grace, your immeasurable grace, which you never fail to give to us.

 

NOTES FOR THE CIRCUMSPECT

My thanks to Zoilus, my Greek editor, and eagle-eyed Aeteia, the Lawfully Wedded, who once again saved me from sinking just as I was pulling into harbor.

Source:  https://www.proseyxi.com/paraklisi-eis-tin-panagia-tin-diasozousa/.

Ode I.  
“You always protect” is διασωζεις.  Διασωζω can also be translated as preserve, maintain (Great Scott); save, heal, cure (Schrevelius); conduct, guide (Sophocles); rescue, deliver (Kyriakides).  The reader is invited to decide which verb he prefers.  Montanari offers save.  In Greek, no such choice has to be made; the native speaker of ancient Greek would unconsciously pick out the relevant nuance.  I settled on protector.  The reader may address her as he prefers.
“The savior and creator” may seem objectionable, but the rules of English capitalization are clear:  proper nouns are capitalized and common nouns are not.  In “the savior and creator,” we have two nouns modified by “the,” so they cannot be proper nouns.  When we address the savior, we would write, “O Savior,” because then it is a proper noun.  Keep in mind that neither Hebrew nor Syriac even have capital letters.  Attributing to capital letters a theological significance is a mistake.
“Honorably” is a speculative translation of εύσήμως as a scribal error for εύσχήμως.  The first word, which is found in the text, means evidently or distinctly.  The second word means decorously, in a dignified way (Montanari) or decently, honorably, with grace and dignity (Great Scott).  It makes no sense to me to say “Patmos magnifies the Mother of God evidently, distinctly.”

Ode III.  
“Power” is an admittedly loose translation of χάρις.  I justify my translation by appealing to Harrison’s discussion of the constellation of χάρις, which includes themes very familiar to readers of canons—glory, wealth, mystery and power..  In particular, Harrison quotes C. Spicq asnoting that “in Paul’s epistles χάρις and δύναμις are frequently synonymous (James R. Harrison, Paul’s Language of Grace in its Graeco-Roman Context [Wipf & Stock, 2017; prev. Mohr Siebeck, 2003], p. 243).

Prayers Between 3^rd & 4^th Odes.
“Benevolence” renders εύνοία, which can also mean affection or good will.

Ode VI.  
“Purify” is not the translation of καθαγίασον, which means “consecrate.”  I believe that the word intended is καθαγνίζω.  It makes more sense to purify our hearts than it does to consecrate our hearts.